Enter The Giveaway Where EVERYONE Wins!

Mission Florn, Part 2

I have spoken of Penn Scripter before and here is where I reveal all!

To answer the question, WHO IS PENN SCRIPTER?

The short of it is simply Penn Scripter is the mother-daughter writing team of unexpected paranormal romance.

That's me on the right and my mom on the left. 

Carol McKibben is an animal rescuer and momma to several breeds of dogs including Huskies, Labrador Retrievers, and a German Short-Haired Pointer. She's also one half of Penn Scripter, the mother/daughter writing team of Carol & Stephanie McKibben. Each bring their own flavor to the paranormal stories they write together. With their combined powers limitless possibilities abound! While both love paranormal, Stephanie brings romance, and Carol brings the unexpected. Sound like your kind of read? Get your free excerpt of The Demon of Reginhart​ here: 

We have a private facebook group for our fellow street team and V.I.R.'s but our Facebook Page is open to everyone!

1. Penn Scripter is a mother/daughter team writing unexpected paranormal romance.
2. Penn Scripter does not write light and fluffy stories.
3. Expect the unexpected in every story Penn Scripter writes.
4. Penn Scripter is the pseudonym for the combined efforts of two writers that love paranormal.
5. Both authors of the Penn Scripter nom de plume are involved in dog rescue. 

Our debut is going to be The Demon of Reginhart that will be released Winter 2020. We have not set a date as of yet, but it will be in early December. Hence, why I'm teasing it now!

Speaking of... here is a book trailer for The Demon of Reginhart​! 

After years of relentless battle, a pact between an unyielding mage and the demon that would possess him created Marcus, a personality with his own mind and body who encases them all.

But the demon within is not willing to curb its blood lust. After Marcus attempts to restrain the demon and fails, an army is sent to destroy Marcus. Upon their meeting, the king of Benicar presses Marcus for a truce and convinces him to serve under his banner in a war between nations.

Dispatched to another town Marcus finds Platt, a beautiful farm girl with a mysterious gift he believes could bring true peace between the mage and the demon inside of him. But soon after he settles in the town of Reginhart his neat and tidy world becomes unraveled.

This excerpt is the first look of The Demon of Reginhart only for those truly interested! See you on the other side!

Happy Reading!

​~ Stephy

Corran Antilles is having a bad life. Schlepping cargo for the Federation doesn't pay. Even worse, the corporate hauler assigned to him malfunctions inside Trevithick Station. Before Corran's ship trouble costs him his life, he's able to land, but at the price of his job. Down on his luck, with no money and no way to get home, Corran thinks he’s hit the jackpot when a stranger approaches and offers him the chance of a lifetime. But of course, nothing in the Federation is free, and there's always a catch.

© 2015 S.N.McKibben

“Corran! Get over here!” Aurellio yelled over the comm. “He’s here, and he’s with that snooty CEO.”

“I’m almost there!” I shot back.

My new Viper was a hell of a lot faster than the Sidewinder, but trying to maneuver this thing after honing my circle technique was a bitch. After landing, I ran to the Star and Garter. Skidding to a halt just outside the entrance next to Aurellio, I leaned over to catch my breath.

He held a decanter of Bast snake gin in one hand while peeking inside the bar.

“You first,” I heaved between breaths.

Aurellio didn’t need a second invitation. He strutted over to the table where Felix and Ourora were conducting their business. I listened in and watched a few heads follow my friend and co-conspirator. He didn’t hesitate and walked up to them like an invited guest.

“Felix!” Aurellio set the booze on their table. That was his idea to punctuate his acknowledgement of the indignities he’d overcome during this whole event. “I just wanted to say, thank you for the past.”

Mr. Wulfhart smiled with a knowing pride. If I had to guess, I think Felix had expected Aurellio to confront him about his dangerous gamble.

I pushed off the wall and headed for their table. Ourora looked peeved. She didn’t appreciate the interruption. Too damn bad. I ignored her and stepped up next to Aurellio as he said, “If I’d known you liked Bast snake gin so much, I would’ve spared you the effort.”

“That was not the point,” Felix mused with a know-it-all grin.

“Hello, Mr. Wulfhart,” I said.

Felix flashed me a brilliant smile. His owl-like persona was intensified by the glasses distorting his eyes. “Greetings, Corran. How are you?”

“Very well, thank you, sir.”

Felix beamed at us like a proud father. “How are you liking your new Viper? Faster, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir.”

The weight of Ourora’s murderous glare almost pulled my attention away from the conversation. Thank goodness for Aurellio jabbing me in the gut.

“I wanted to return your Sidewinder. It’s in excellent working order.” Unlike some haulers I’ve flown before. “I’m no longer in need of it.”

“Oh?” Felix said. “The Sidewinder is yours. No need to return it.”

“I appreciate that, sir, but I’d rather you allowed someone else to use it. Preferably someone who’d like to get out of this Federation shithole.”

By the twinkle in the Imperial’s eyes, I’d done something that tickled him pink. “Very well. I’ll do that.”

I stuck out my hand and he shook it.

Aurellio gave a salute, turned and walked off. I followed at first. Then, unable to resist, I turned back and said, “Oh, and sir, if you happen to want a hauler for small cargo or need a bounty hunter, I’m for hire. Unfortunately I don’t take Federation jobs, but I’m willing to drop by if you’re ever in need.”

Felix tilted his head back and let out a triumphant laugh that startled some of the bar’s customers. I could still hear him cackling as we walked out of the bar. Whatever the bet he had with Mrs. Kingsley, I was sure I’d just won it for him—tenfold.

This concludes the short story "Dangerous Gamble". Thank you so much for reading! 

If your new here, you're in for a treat!

This maybe the last of the FREE published stories that I've won an award for so pay attention! Below is CHAPTER 4 of "Dangerous Gamble". 

If you'd like to tip me for this story, I invite you to purchase another story of mine on any retailer. Check out my books on these fine retailers

​Also, because this is a free story it will be doled out in parts. All the parts will be connected so you can follow the completed story. ​​

Last we saw our hero, he challenged Aurellio Crown to meet him at Trevithick Station hoping to find some answers about his new, mysterious and generous employer─because Corran knows nothing in the Federation is free, and there's always a catch. 

​© 2015 S.N.McKibben

“If it isn’t the Jackpot Winner himself.” Dalton, the barkeep at the Star and Garter, had become my number-one fan for some reason. After seeing me meet with Felix a few times, Dalton treated me with more esteem.

“Why do you always call me that?”

“Because…” he shrugged. “It’s true, right?”

Dalton poured my favorite. Potts-dim liquor still quenched my palate even after I’d tried several more expensive types of alcohol. At least now I knew how the top-shelf drinks tasted. Before, I’d never had enough money to indulge in such trivialities.

“So, you do know anything about my patron?” I asked.

Dalton eyed me in warning. “It’s best not to go poking around a patron’s business.”

“I know something about Felix,” a voice from behind me said.

I turned around and saw a cloaked man. His hood covered his face, exposing only his nose, lips and days-old beard scruff.

“Oh?” I said.

“For a price,” the drifter elaborated.

Of course. “How much?”

“I want to hear it.” A blond, blue-eyed jock plopped down a credit stick. I recognized the voice. The blond could only be Aurellio. Mr. Sunshine looked every part of the quintessential rich kid. He wore the best pilot suit money could buy. Toting a dashing velvet red cape—much like Felix’s, Aurellio looked, sounded and smelled like money. Only, I knew his patron chucked him overboard like rotten meat. That must have been a devastating blow. For a guy like him, born with a silver spoon up his ass, coming down to the Federation hell-hole was actually a little dangerous. I never worried for Felix. The old man seemed to know how to handle himself. But Aurellio might get jumped. I’d have to tell him to tone it down a bit around here or risk getting mugged. 

Aurellio sat next to the hooded drifter, slid the credit stick towards the man and crossed his arms over the table.

The hooded stranger stared at the credit stick Aurellio had put on the table. The drifter took a sip of his drink, grabbed the credit stick and inserted it into a scanner. From the lack of haggling, I figured he was impressed with the amount offered. Not good. I looked around to see who might notice Aurellio throwing around his credits. Shit this guy was clueless. Money around here brought out the smell of people’s desperation.  

“I was here when Felix was talking to the resident CEO.” The stranger’s nose turned to me. “You might know her,” he smirked. Great. For there being no one around during my merciless firing, it seemed everybody knew about my abasement at the hands of Ourora Kingsley.

“It seems you two were just play pieces,” the drifter said.

“Harbinger,” Dalton growled.

The hooded man flipped off the bartender. “As I recall, you won a great deal on the bet.”

“And this is your way of compensating yourself for losing?” Dalton said.

“Bet?” Aurellio scowled. “What bet?”

Harbinger took a sip of his drink. “Don’t you know your ex-patron, Golden One?”

“What were the terms?” I asked.

“You two can’t work that out?” Harbinger stood up.

“Hey, that’s it?” Aurellio lifted his palms as if to say what gives?

Harbinger shrugged. “That’s all I’m allowed to say.” He turned his face to Dalton.

Aurellio strutted over next to me at the bar, eyes glaring at Dalton. “What do you know?”

I watched Harbinger slink out of the bar and fade into the shadows.

“Just like he said, boys,” Dalton said.

“You bet in my favor and he didn’t?” I turned to the barkeep. “Thanks!”

Dalton smiled.

“Does that mean I get free drinks?” I grinned.

“No.”

Worth a try. “So it involved Felix becoming my patron. Was that why I was fired?”

“That old biddy would’ve fired you anyway.” Dalton cleaned a glass with his white rag. “That’s just who she is.”

“Come on,” I said. “Tell me why you won if you’re not going to share in the profits.”

“I won because you won.” Dalton ran the rag over the counter.

“All I’m doing is making a living,” I said.

“Precisely.” Dalton folded the rag and tossed it under the bar.

“So Felix bet on him and Ourora bet on me?” Aurellio pointed a thumb at himself.

“Not exactly,” Dalton said.

I threw up my hands. “Will you just say it?”

The barkeep rolled his eyes. “Think of it in terms of Federation versus Imperials. It’s the same morals that govern the two factions.”

Aurellio’s forehead hit the bar top.

“Are you all right?” I said.

“I know.” Aurellio rolled his face toward me without lifting his head off the bar. “It was based on our success.”

“Explain,” I said.

Mr. Sunshine lifted himself up off the counter. “Here’s how it would go. Felix would pull me out of my ship, stop being my sponsor, and dump me in some backwater Federation hellhole, knowing I’d get back to Imperial space. Not only that, I’d get up and running again. You can’t stop a Crown.”

“Okay.” I lifted my eyebrows. A little full of ourselves, aren’t we? But it did sound like he’d been shoved into a situation much like mine before I met Felix.

“But you, a space rat, given the opportunities I had, would succeed.”

“So you’re saying he bet on us both achieving our goals? You’d get back what was taken from you and I’d find a better life?”

“Damn it!” Aurellio pounded on the bar top. “And we won him the bet.”

“You reap what you sow,” I quoted.

“Imperials believe you can achieve anything if you’re given a chance and set your mind to it,” Dalton said.

“While the Federation believes no one can do anything without government intervention,” I continued. That belief was all too well implied in everything they did. Screw that.

“What was the bounty?” Aurellio asked.

​Dalton pulled a decanter from under the bar. “Care for some Bast snake gin?”

Part 4 END

If your new here, you're in for a treat!

This maybe the last of the FREE published stories that I've won an award for so pay attention! Below is CHAPTER 3 of "Dangerous Gamble". 

If you'd like to tip me for this story, I invite you to purchase another story of mine on any retailer. Check out my books on these fine retailers:

© 2015 S.N.McKibben

As stars went by I sat back in my pilot’s seat, marveling at the Sidewinder’s supercruise ability. This was so cool!

My fifth job put me in Imperial space. I figured if my patron was an Imperial, maybe I should be there too. Silly logic, I know, but I felt a certain amount of obligation to Felix. Another part of me was, as they say, waiting for the second engine to blow.

For now, I was trying to find jobs. A harder prospect than I’d thought. They were increasingly difficult to get. Trust was never my strong point. Maybe it had to do with that.

The Sidewinder rattled and stuttered. Shit. Here it comes. I was so used to ship malfunctions I wasn’t looking at my controls. Everything reported normal. What the hell? The blue sheath that normally surrounded me in supercruise shifted in a whirlwind like I was caught in a twister. Great. I’d heard about this, but I’d never thought I’d be victim to one. Traveling from planet to station never involved interdictions.

“Bask in the Emperor’s glory—by crashing into a sun, you nerf herder.” I swung towards the escape vector, trying to turn left and down. It felt like pushing string through mud. My Sidewinder shuddered and pitched right.

Spiraling for my escape, the guy behind me stayed on my tail.

“You’re good, I’ll give you that,” I said.

My ship was pulled out of supercruise. The frame shift drive wouldn’t recharge in time to get away. I was stuck out here with this ass.

A voice filled with hostility came over the comm. “Who the hell are you?”

“Excuse me, dickless wonder, but you interdicted me.”

“Dickless wonder? That’s rich. You didn’t even bother to change the paint job. You thought you were so high and mighty you’d shove it in my nose, didn’t you?”

What the hell was he talking about? “Who are you?”

“I’m Aurellio Crown, and you’re in my damn ship.”

There it was. If something was too good to be true… it usually was. “I swear I didn’t swipe your ship. It… it was given to me, okay?”

Aurellio howled. I heard a crash, then crackles on the comm. “Fucking Felix!” he hollered.

“Hey! Don’t talk about Mr. Wulfhart like that.” If what Aurellio said was true, I felt sorry for him, but I wasn’t going to hand over my one chance to get out of the hell I’d been born into. “Look, I don’t know what’s up between the two of you, but this ship is mine now.”

Silence.

“Hello?” With my luck, he was getting ready to blow me out of the galaxy.

“You’re right,” Aurellio said finally. “So, I got replaced by you?”

“Replaced?”

“Felix is your patron now?”

“Yeah.” This whole situation smelled fishy. “So wait, was he your patron before me?”

“Well, he’s not my patron anymore.”

Did that mean the same thing would happen to me? Would Felix dump me after a time? What had Aurellio done to lose his favor? “Why would he do that?” I mused, mostly to myself.

“Because he’s an Imperial ass.”

“There has to be more to it than that.” And stop calling Felix an ass. But before the same happened to me, I was going to find out how to avoid or prevent it. “You did nothing to lose his favor?”

Aurellio sighed. “Not unless being the best is cause for it.”

“Oh, the best, huh?”

“A little space rat like you wouldn’t know who I was, or my reputation.”

True, but… “Well if you’re so high and mighty how come I haven’t heard of you?”

A pause. “The hell! Did you not hear my name? Aurellio C-R-O-W-N.”

“And?”

“I’m the Senator’s son.”

“So?”

“Are you incredibly dense? You’re in Imperial space. That means, if I wanted, I could kill you without recourse.”

Well this conversation turned dark fast. “So why haven’t you?”

“Because I’m better than that.”

“Then why do you want this starter kit back? Why don’t you get your daddy to buy you a super-cruiser like a Clipper?” Some guys were just born into wealth. Meeting Aurellio proved I never wanted to come across another rich kid again. Prick.

“It’s a matter of honor. You wouldn’t understand, space rat.”

“Hey, Sunshine, I bet if I had a privileged lifestyle like you I could do better.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Meet me at the Star and Garter,” I said. If we went back to the start maybe I could find some answers.

“At Trevithick Station?”

“That’s the one.”

“Tsk. Before all this I’d never been there,” Aurellio uttered sourly.

“Sorry for making you come down to the slums, Sunshine.”

“Whatever.”

​Some guys always had to have the last word. I wasn’t that petty.

Part 3 END